Covid fallout still causing long delays for L-tests and lessons
Lockdown backlog and a shortage of instructors are making learner drivers wait
Learner drivers are facing substantial waiting times to book lessons and tests as the industry struggles to catch up on the backlog of lockdownenforced cancellations – even though the go-ahead to resume both was given in April, following the easing of Covid-related restrictions.
According to figures released by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in April, there was a backlog of 420,000 practical tests and 380,000 theory tests, and the national waiting time to undertake a practical test was 17 weeks.
Although the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to the delays, the writing appears to have been on the wall for some time. In the past decade, the number of approved driving instructor registrations has fallen by 8000 drivers.
“There is currently a huge shortage of instructors,” Theo Tucker, operations director at Bill Plant Driving School, told Autocar. “Bill Plant Driving School has literally turned away over 70,000 potential pupils since lessons resumed due to simply not having an available instructor to fit them in.”